A Cultured Christmas: 10 videogames to get into
Final Fantasy VII Remake: a 90s classic goes in a new direction
A revenge tale in the vein of the movies of Akira Kurosawa (complete with a monochrome mode overseen by the legendary director’s estate), Ghost of Tsushima might well be the apex of the PS4’s powers, a gorgeous, sprawling, open-world proposition set in feudal Japan. Laden down with ample objectives and side-quests, the game leans heavily into its cinematic influences across its main story.
Starring Hollywood icon Keanu Reeves in the virtual lead role, this was by far the most anticipated videogame of 2020, amid rabid clamour from fans of the game’s development house, CDProjekt Red. Emerging after years of delays, advance reviews of the PC version at time of writing were mixed, coming in for praise for its vast cityscape, and criticism for issues in graphics and gameplay.
The above was written before the full controversy of the game's PS4 and XBox editions unfolded. For more on that, click here.
Littered with expressive Hiberno-English and cosy references to Irish life across its all-too-brief duration, visual novel ...If Found, developed by Dublin-based company Dreamfeel, is a breathtaking and poignant tale of identity, acceptance, love, belonging and the end of the world. A gently raging story, set on Achill Island in the early ‘90s, that bristles with psychedelic visuals, punk-rock and the pains of becoming one’s true self.
It’s been the ultimate game of the lockdown for millions of players worldwide, as an island break overseen by enterprising raccoon Tom Nook quickly becomes a combination of exploration, collection, crafting and coexisting, as a campsite becomes a village, complete with its own revolving cast of characters. The charm of Animal Crossing: New Horizons lays in its exquisitely slow gameplay, changing with the seasons in real-time.
Bundled with every PlayStation 5 for those who’ve been so lucky, this simple platformer has been the perfect introduction to the console’s sophisticated array of control methods via its default DualSense joypad. Making use of touch-sensitivity, the pad’s microphone, responsive triggers and motion-sensitive control, this charming platformer is a universally-accessible intro to the new generation.
Taking a game so beloved to a generation of fans, and one that did untold favours for the role-playing genre in this neck of the woods in particular, was always going to be a risk. Shifting from the fixed viewpoints of the 1997 original to an in-depth exploration of the game’s metropolis of Midgar, it’s consensus now that the risk has paid off, doing justice to its source material while revealing new depths to the experience of guerilla environmentalists and their fight against the all-encompassing Shinra corporation.
Nintendo and Tecmo Koei’s second collaboration in their Legend of Zelda crossover series follows the latter’s Warriors template closely, mixing satisfying hack-and-slash action and command-based warfare with RPG elements. Set 100 years before the events of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it captures that game’s shimmering, iridescent aesthetic perfectly, and helps players set the scene for an eventual sequel, as announced last year.
A “social deduction” game originally released in 2018 was hardly a likely candidate for mainstream success in 2020, but here we are. You’re in space, onboard a ship of some sort, but while most of you are crewmates tasked with menial jobs, some of you are impostors, out to discreetly murder the crew and pin the rap on the innocent. A simple and bright exterior betrays a little world of deception, while its fandom has vaulted it to pop-culture prominence, counting US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among its number.
The Mushroom Kingdom’s resident plumber has been busy on his 35th anniversary year, and the short-notice announcement of a new Paper Mario adventure, set in a charmingly sarky alternate timeline, set fans buzzing. It’s a lovely role-playing game, with hints of platforming and the usual RPG touches, including a battle system that’s a little bit of an acquired taste, but what really sets the whole affair off is the dialogue: sparkling with wholesome humour, and relishing every opportunity to break a long-established fourth wall.
Fans of PlayStation 1’s unofficial mascot have generally been enthusiastic about this reboot of their beloved series, set sometime after 1998’s Crash Bandicoot: Warped, and ignoring subsequent storylines and characters in favour of bringing proceedings into 2020 and beyond. Lots of neat little gameplay additions have brought life to the familiar run ‘n’ jump template, while level design is a lot more intricate than first glances would have you believe.
